Everyday farming practices, including fence building, planting and fertilizer application, could be affected by a proposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule to expand federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. In March the EPA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued its proposed rule, which would expand the definition of "Waters of the United States" under the CWA and give them jurisdiction over almost all areas with a hydrologic connection to downstream navigable waters, including ditches.

Ohio Farm Bureau Senior Director of Corporate Communications Joe Cornely discusses how Ohio Farm Bureau isn't something but a bunch of somebodies using a local news story of a Hocking County Farm Bureau policy meeting as an example.

Applications are now being accepted for two new conservation programs created under the 2014 Farm Bill. The Agricultural Conservation Easements Program (ACEP) has up to $366 million available to state and local governments, Native American tribes, nongovernmental organizations and private landowners.

Ohio Farm Bureau's policy development process is in its early, and arguably more important, stage. County Farm Bureau policy development meetings are being held across Ohio to identify issues or concerns members would like to move forward through to the state wide policy development process. Get a glimpse of some of these meetings in this image, and contact your county Farm Bureau to get involved!

What does the law say about your land projects that impact someone else’s drainage, or about when theirs affects you? OFBF Director of Ag Law Leah Curtis and Joe Cornely discuss reasonable use standards, petition ditch law and other drainage topics.

Eminent domain, oil and gas leasing, open burning and all purpose vehicle use are just some of the topics covered in Ohio Farm Bureau’s Legal Information Series brochures, which are being redesigned and made available electronically, for Ohio Farm Bureau members only.

Summit County Farm Bureau was one of four county Farm Bureaus selected nationwide to receive a $700 grant from the American Farm Bureau Women’s Leadership Committee to help fund “Our Food Link”¯ activities. Our Food Link is a year-round program that county and state Farm Bureaus can use to effectively reach consumers of all ages and backgrounds with information about today’s agriculture.

If the European Union has its way, U.S. cheese producers won’t be able to use European names such as Parmesan, asiago, feta and muenster because the EU says they are “geographical indications” and can only be displayed on products made in certain areas of Europe. But some of Ohio’s cheese producers have been making cheese the way their European ancestors did many generations ago.

Ohio Farm Bureau’s 2013 Outstanding Young Farmers Nathan and Jennifer Brown of Hillsboro recently received a Kubota M-Series tractor to use for 250 hours, one of the prizes for being named the state winner.